A bride mysteriously disappears on her wedding day in the newest Veronica Speedwell adventure by the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey series.Lured by the promise of a rare and elusive butterfly, the intrepid Veronica Speedwell is persuaded by Lord Templeton-Vane, the brother of her colleague Stoker, to pose as his fiancée at a house party on a Cornish isle owned by his … Cornish isle owned by his oldest friend, Malcolm Romilly.
But Veronica soon learns that one question hangs over the party: What happened to Rosamund? Three years ago, Malcolm Romilly’s bride vanished on their wedding day, and no trace of her has ever been found. Now those who were closest to her have gathered, each a possible suspect in her disappearance.
From the poison garden kept by Malcolm’s sister to the high towers of the family castle, the island’s atmosphere is full of shadows, and danger lurks around every corner.
Determined to discover Rosamund’s fate, Veronica and Stoker match wits with a murderer who has already struck once and will not hesitate to kill again.…
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I am really enjoying this series featuring a most unusual heroine, Veronica Speedwell. This new installment in the series is a wonderfully done ghost story complete with a vanished bride. Lots of fun.
If you haven’t been reading Deanna Raybourn, dear readers, you are missing out! Her books feature strong, witty, pithy women with unique skill sets, from lepidopterists to amateur sleuths on safari. Her work is impeccably researched, bringing Victorian England, the continent, and Africa to life, with a dash of swoon thrown in for good measure. And when I say swoon…I mean SWOON. Her latest, A DANGEROUS COLLABORATION, is the fourth in her Veronica Speedwell mystery series and it’s incredible. With nods to Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier, it is atmospheric, clever, and utterly romantic. Granted, I find good manners, lovely food, castles in Cornwall, and a naked Stoker on the shingle quite romantic.
This series continues to be so much fun! I LOVE Veronica Speedwell – she’s the perfect blend of smart, sassy, and stubborn and the combination makes for a delightful foil for Stoker (her partner in crime) as well as the rest of the supporting cast. I was pleased to see Stoker’s brother Tiberius play such a large role in this book – both for the development of his own character AND the insights into Stoker. Raybourn continues to develop her characters and world nicely – there is a LOT going on behind the scenes in these books and the teasing way that details are promised and then revealed (eventually and slowly, quite often) adds a nice depth to the stories. If you’re looking for a fun series of mysteries that build off of each other in a nuanced and detailed way, with great characterization, this is definitely for you!
Thanks to the Penguin First to Read program for my review copy.
I really liked the characters. They were easy to like and some were easy to dislike. Victoria is asked to go to a Cornish island to gather some rare butterflies. In order to get them, she has to help investigate the disappearance of the host’s bride from three years earlier. There is so much secrecy surrounding her disappearance and so many people who had a reason to see her dead. Did she die or did she leave the island on her own accord? As Victoria and Stoker seek answers, more questions came to light. Even Stoker’s own brother has a motive. They need to find the culprit before another murder happens.
Book 4 of the Veronica Speedwell mysteries and I think this one is my favorite. Although, it might be entirely due to the grumpy, piratical, delicious hero, Stoker. Love all of Raybourn’s books. Highly recommend them all if you enjoy historical mysteries with a slow burn romance.
Deanna Raybourn never lets me down. Loved this books!
Revelstoke Templeton-Vane. He’s my book boyfriend. He can be yours too if you check out this awesome series by Deanna Raybourn.
I’m a fan of Veronica Speedwell, and this is by far my favorite book of the series. Suspenseful, emotional, surprising, with a wonderfully gothic setting on a small island off Cornwall. I hated to see it end!
I discovered that I much prefer Veronica and Stoker having heated debates over cold indifference! No worries, however, because the intrepid duo get back on equal footing with emotionally spectacular results! Please tell me there’s another book…or three…coming soon!
A Deanna Raybourn Gothic! With her usual touch of humor and tongue in cheek.
Stoker’s brother convinces Veronica to go with him to a friend’s island “castle”. She is certain that he has ulterior motives, but the promise of a rare butterfly is enough to get her to go.
Stoker decides to meet them there, without being invited, and the tensions build. Brother to brother. Friend to friend. Potential heir to present heir.
Plus village people with The Site. Servants who may have vested interests.
All, supposedly, to figure out what happened to a missing bride.
Death, attempted murder, borderline madness, it has it all.
Plus the tension between Veronica and Stoker comes to a major climax.
Rip-snorting good
I received this novel as a giveaway and agreed to give an honest review.
I love an English mystery, a spooky island, a spunky heroine and a semi-brooding hero and Ms. Raybourn has included all of these favorite things in one novel. The characters are interesting, most of them likeable, and all are very human. I have not read the previous entries in the series, but Ms. Raybourn gives enough background information to help fill in any blanks without discouraging reading the earlier novels.
Three cheers for Veronica Speedwell!
This series gets better with each book. I love the relationship between Veronica and Stoker and liked learning more of the backstory between Stoker and his brother Tiberius in this book. The mystery was interesting and took a few turns that I wasn’t expecting. I also enjoy learning about the different butterflies that Veronica is studying in each book. I had never heard of a Glasswing before and after reading this book I looked it up to see what it looked like.
Grumpy Stoker is best Stoker. This was a fascinating look into Tiberius (who is a ridiculous character, in the best way). And that ending on the island? Adorable!
Book 62 towards my goal of 275! 5/5 stars for this adult adventure read. This one was definitely spookier than the others in the series I read so far. Great story about love and loss. But still laced with the banter we’ve come to love from Veronica and Stoker! Where will our next adventure lead us?? Can’t recommend this series enough if you enjoy historical fiction, with a twist.
I always seem to stay at least one behind in this series. I love it so much that I can’t bear to be caught up and not have Veronica and Stoker to visit as I like.
This one was a bit different. Stoker’s brother, Tiberius is summoned to a friend’s island home and takes them along. Malcolm Romilly’s wife disappeared on their wedding day three years before. He wants to solve the mystery so he can move forward with his life.
While there’s not a lot of action
in this one, and Tiberius figures heavily, there is more constructive angst in Veronica’s and Stoker’s complex relationship here, and I found this one enlightening as far as the characters were concerned. The mystery itself does not figure that prominently, but I found (in Raybourn’s deft hands) I really didn’t feel cheated at all in that way.
Wonderful addition to this series! Keep them coming, please!
I have the print book, but chose to listen to this one and I am so glad I did. A very gothic atmosphere with the setting on a foggy island once inhabited by smugglers, complete with tunnels leading to various locations. Victoria and Stoker’s relationship moves along in the last portion of the book, finally! Loved it!
An easy read with twists and turns that were mostly expected, but still fun to read.
I enjoyed this book. Characters were multi-dimensional and interesting.
I loved all of the books in this series. The heroine is a thoroughly modern women living in a very Victorian time. There’s humor, excitement, adventure and danger. I am anxiously awaiting the release of the next book.
Good complex plot and well developed characters